1996

1996 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar	1996; MCMXCVI
Ab urbe condita	2749
Armenian calendar	1445; ԹՎ ՌՆԽԵ
Assyrian calendar	6746
Bahá'í calendar	152–153
Balinese saka calendar	1917–1918
Bengali calendar	1403
Berber calendar	2946
British Regnal year	44 Eliz. 2 – 45 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2540
Burmese calendar	1358
Byzantine calendar	7504–7505
Chinese calendar	乙亥年 (Wood Pig); 4692 or 4632; — to —; 丙子年 (Fire Rat); 4693 or 4633
Coptic calendar	1712–1713
Discordian calendar	3162
Ethiopian calendar	1988–1989
Hebrew calendar	5756–5757
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2052–2053
- Shaka Samvat	1917–1918
- Kali Yuga	5096–5097
Holocene calendar	11996
Igbo calendar	996–997
Iranian calendar	1374–1375
Islamic calendar	1416–1417
Japanese calendar	Heisei 8; (平成８年)
Javanese calendar	1928–1929
Juche calendar	85
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4329
Minguo calendar	ROC 85; 民國85年
Nanakshahi calendar	528
Thai solar calendar	2539
Tibetan calendar	阴木猪年; (female Wood-Pig); 2122 or 1741 or 969; — to —; 阳火鼠年; (male Fire-Rat); 2123 or 1742 or 970
Unix time	820454400 – 852076799

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s – 1990s – 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years:	1993 1994 1995 – 1996 – 1997 1998 1999

1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar, the 1996th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 996th year of the 2nd millennium, the 96th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1990s decade.

The most important events

January 7 – The Eastern US is hit by a blizzard. It was almost the same as the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 blizzards. It killed more than 150 people.
January 11 – Ryutaro Hashimoto becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
January 15 – King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho dies in a car crash.
January 16 – Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane, but neither singer was injured.
January 18 – Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson.
January 29 – Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for "Favorite Overall Artist". Brooks says that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did it.
January 29 – Jacques Chirac announces the end of French nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean.
February 4 – An earthquake of magnitude 7 in southwestern China kills more than 240 people.
February 4 – Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized when a man hits him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, California. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car.
February 6 – Birgenair Flight 301 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near the Dominican Republic, killing 189 people.
February 10 – The computer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in a chess match.
February 14 – The Artist Formerly Known As Prince marries backup singer Mayte Garcia.
February 20 – Snoop Doggy Dogg and his bodyguard acquitted of first degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges and a mistrial is declared.
March 2 – John Howard is elected Prime Minister of Australia, taking office on March 11.
March 4 – The Beatles' second reunion song is released, as part of their first reuinion since the band's breakup 26 years earlier. The song is simply a finished version of a John Lennon demo from 1980; a song called Real Love.
March 13 – Dunblane massacre: Thomas Hamilton kills 16 pupils and their teacher at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland.
March 13 – Ramones fans riot in Buenos Aires, Argentina after waiting all night for concert tickets only to find out that the show had been sold out.
March 16 – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men ends its 16th consecutive week at No. 1 with "One Sweet Day". It is the longest consecutive week stay at No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history.
March 17 – Sri Lanka wins the cricket World Cup.
March 18 – The Sex Pistols announce that they are reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour.
March 28 – Phil Collins announces that he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.
April 3 – M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy.
April 4 – The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, scatter part of Garcia's ashes in the Ganges River in India. 1996 like a 1992 one.
April 15 – The remaining part of Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
April 24 – This Train, Rick Elias, Jimmy A, Phil Keaggy, Carolyn Arends, Third Day & Ashley Cleveland perform a tribute concert for Rich Mullins at Nashville's Cafe Milano. Speakers included Reunion Records executive Terry Hemmings, record producer Reed Arvin, disc jockey Jon Rivers, & writer Brennan Manning.
April 28 – Port Arthur massacre: Martin Bryant kills 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
May 8 – In Los Angeles, California, a judge rules against Tommy Lee and wife actress Pamela Anderson Lee in their attempt to keep Penthouse magazine from publishing still photos taken from an X-rated home movie which was stolen from their home.
May 11 – Everest disaster: A sudden storm kills 8 people on Mount Everest.
May 31 – The hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup is given to Japan and South Korea, marking the time that Asia gets to host the FIFA World Cup. SUPERMARKET SWEEP for Louise Anderson
June 1 – Deve Gowda becomes Prime Minister of India.
June 15 – An IRA bomb injures over 200 people in Manchester.
June 23 – The Nintendo 64 game system is released in Japan.
June 30 – Germany defeats the Czech Republic 2–1 to win UEFA Euro 96.
July – The Smashing Pumpkins drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, is arrested for possession of a controlled substance. The other band members fire him because they said his "insidious battle with drugs and alcohol" had nearly ruined everything for the band.
July 5 – Dolly, a cloned sheep, is born.
July 19 – August 4 – The 1996 Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, Georgia.
July 27 – One person is killed and 111 are injured in the Centennial Park bombing in Atlanta.
August 6 – The Ramones play their last ever show at Lollapalooza.
August 15 – Bob Dole is nominated as the Republican Party candidate for the US presidential election.
August 28 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales officially divorce.
September 7 – Rapper Tupac Shakur is shot 4 times in Las Vegas, Nevada while leaving the MGM Grand hotel, after seeing the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match, in what is apparently a drive-by shooting.
September 12 – Controversy follows The Eagles when the band dedicates "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Saddam Hussein at a United States Democratic Party fundraiser held in Los Angeles.
September 13 – Tupac Shakur died in hospital after his wounds from the Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand shooting.
September 14 – Alija Izetbegovic is elected President of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
September 27 – The Taliban capture Kabul, to take control of Afghanistan. Former President Mohammad Najibullah is killed.
November 5 – A volcanic eruption under the Grimsvotn ice cap in Iceland causes a glacial flood.
November 5 – Bill Clinton is reelected as President of the United States, defeating Bob Dole.
November 7 – A category 4 cyclone hits Andhra Pradesh, India. Over 2000 people were killed and 95% of the crops were destroyed.
November 8 – After having first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the movie Hype!, a documentary on the Seattle grunge scene, opens to general audiences.
November 12 – Saudi and Kazak airliners collide, killing 349 people.
December 13 – Kofi Annan is chosen to become UN Secretary-General, a position he takes up on January 1, 1997.
December 30 – A train is bombed by Bodo separatists in Assam, India, killing 26 people.
Larry Ewing creates Tux, the Linux mascot.
Sildenafil patented.
Wasi Muhammad Qureshi appointed as president of International Spiritual Movement Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam by its founder Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi.